Shame on Boxer rescue!

[Lori, Daphne, Lucy & Pippa]

I must start by saying that I am just appalled at what I have been told by Boxer rescue. I guess I just assumed that all rescue for a specific breed were as wonderful as Doodle rescue (DRC).

On Monday i went to a local park to try to get some pictures of my Doodles. I had been there for a couple of hours when I was approached by a woman who asked me if I had left my other dog tied to a pole. She told me that in another area of the park there was a boxer puppy that was tied to the pole that holds the doggie Poo bags. He had been there for quite a while and was crying. Well, I told her that though he was not my dog, I would check it out. Really, why would I leave my puppy tied to a pole so far away when my three didn't even have leashes on? But I get it. I guess she saw me with dogs and guessed that I would care about an abandoned pup.

I drove over to the part of that park where he was and found a young lady sitting on the sidewalk with a cup full of water to give the pup. I asked her if that was her puppy and she told me he wasn't but he had been there for a while crying and with no water. It is still very hot outside here in Florida! She told me that another lady called animal control and she was just going to wait with him till they came to get him. Well one look at that sweet little puppy face and I just knew I could not let him go to an awful shelter where his future was uncertain. I know he would have been terrified there! He was tied up using a slip lead and a very thin collar that was too small. Almost as if whoever left him decided they didn't want to give away his good collar that actually fit him. I actually had to take the collar off of him to get him loose from the pole.

Anyway, I took him home and discovered that he is just the sweetest, cutest puppy! I took him to the vets office on the way just to see if he had a chip. Even though I was sure that if he did, that person did not deserve this puppy. I have no idea why anyone would have abandoned him. They told me that he is between 16-20 weeks old. He still has his little shark puppy teeth. He also had fleas and they gave him a pill to get rid of them. Poor puppy had flea bites inside his cute little ears.

I contacted several different boxer rescues just to see which one worked in my area. They were not at all the helpful people of DRC! I finally was led to contact B.A.R.C. the lady who contacted me told me that they could not help me because he does not appear to be a full boxer based only on the length of his snout. "Anyone experienced with the boxer breed, such as the people who come to us to adopt, would know that he is a mix." I was told to take him to a Jax shelter. REALLY??! I have never been so shocked. I thought that all people who rescue dogs, care about dogs and not just a specific pedigree. After all, who can really be certain about a dog pedigree when he is a rescue? I understand that Doodles are a mixed breed and we all love them but I guess I stupidly thought that all dog lovers thought the same way. Definitely not the boxer people!

[Stella]

Awesome news!!

[Julie, Eloise & Beasley]

Yay, that is the puppy jackpot!!

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Wow ~ just read your discussion about this sweet boy.  Oh my - who are these people that do things like this.  I am so happy his story has a happy ending - thanks to your kindness Lori.

[Richard Crowe]

Our San Diego area has several County Shelters along with several non-governmental shelters.  We are pleased to give all of the shelters, including the San Diego County shelters very high marks regarding the care and placement of rescue dogs. The shelters are very clean and the dogs well cared for.  All the local shelters are non-kill. and the shelters provide such good care that when a pregnant dog or a mom with newborn puppies arrives at the shelter, the staff doesn't integrate the mom or puppies with the general population.  Instead, they call an appropriate rescue group to pull the dogs so that there will be less chance of mom or pups catching a communicable disease.

OTOH, there are some shelters in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties that provide terrible care.  They are quick to put dogs down and don't seem to care about the dogs that they don't kill.  I could provide some shocking stories but, won't...